I didn't really report this story initially because honestly, I didn't think it was that big of a deal. Yanina Wickmayer failed to report her whereabouts to drug-testing officials. Ok, I mean, shit happens. She'll get a slap on the wrist and we'll move on. She had, at least to me, a pretty plausible explanation for the whole SNAFU:
Wickmayer said last month she has had trouble with her password in the computerized system overseen by the World Anti-Doping Agency. She also said registered mail at her home could not be signed off on because she was traveling to WTA tournaments.
She has insisted she never missed an anti-doping test and her samples were always negative.
Welcome to the post-Andre Agassi "I methed and lied about it, suckas!" Era.
Now to be fair, I didn't know that this had happened three times. So it wasn't an isolated incident. And yes, I do understand the whole "All you had to do was make a telephone call, idiot" argument. So yes, while I think a suspension may have been warranted...ONE YEAR???
This is especially shocking considering the prosecutor only recommended that she receive a warning. So to go from the prosecution recommending what amounts to a citation, to ONE YEAR off the tour? That's a rogue tribunal, if you ask me. That's like getting arrested for a misdemeanor, the DA recommending 30 hours of community service, and the judge throwing that out, elevating the offense to a felony, and throwing you in prison for a year.
Or maybe I've been watching too much of The Good Wife.
Tough break for Wickmayer though. Even though she plans to appeal immediately, the suspension takes immediate effect. So she's out of Bali after winning her first match over Kimiko. She'll probably be replaced by Vera D.
This is seriously a tough break for a woman who has had enough tough breaks in her life. I have no doubt that on appeal she'll be vindicated. Then again, in this age of "HOW THE HELL DID YOU LET A GUY GET AWAY WITH SMOKING METH FOR A YEAR!!!" who knows what a tribunal will do.
